Do you have shrubs browning, black spotting, or dying this summer? With so much heavy, sporadic rainfall we are receiving this summer there is a chance your plants might have a fungal infection - blackspot due to wetness and humidity. 

How to Treat Fungal Infections: 

• Make sure to remove extra groundcover away from the base of your shrubs and plants. Groundcovers include bark, mulch, dirt, small rocks, etc.  Look for white fungi in the soil or groundcovers around the base and remove those as well. 

 

• Blackspot on leaves and on stems should be cut back by removing the individual leaves. If the bush is dense you can thin it out by removing only the oldest branches and then about 1/3 of them. This will increase air flow. Then use a copper or sulphur fungicide to treat the shrub. Check with me or a local nursery to properly identify the fungal infections before you proceed with a fungicide.

 

• Water only at the base and STOP overhead watering. 

 

• CLEAN YOUR TOOLS with rubbing alcohol between trimmings. If you don't you chance spreading the fungi to the same plant or to a new plant. 

When Do Shrubs or Plants Need to Removed?

Blackspot generally does not kill plants and shrubs. BUT after a growing season or two if the main trunk or with hydrangeas, canes, are dead and brittle at the base and you have a mushroom type fungi growing it is time to remove the plant or shrub. 

AFTER diseased plant or shrub removal make sure to clear away all leaves and debris around the area and throw them in the debris trashcan. Turn over the soil so the sun can get to it. Mix in healthy mulch and compost to rebuild the soil. Wait a full growing season if possible before planting another plant or shrub in that location.